About

Kate Stuart

Celebrating and Supporting the Written and Spoken Word.

Literature is one of the most accessible art forms. Throughout our lives we are surrounded by stories; in books, on billboards, on screens, on stage and online. Written and spoken words are interwoven to give us thrills and laughs. They entertain, inform and inspire us.

Established in 2011, Literature Wales is the national company for the development of literature in Wales. Literature Wales is responsible for leading the sector and actively collaborates with organisations and individuals who contribute to the promotion, creation and enjoyment of literature in Wales.

The company includes Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre and works closely with The Welsh Academy, the society for writers in Wales. We enable and facilitate activity in a variety of settings: whether it’s funding a Minecraft poetry workshop in a school; advising on writers to take part in large international showcases; working with a university on the outreach component of an academic project; or liaising with local businesses on public poetry commissions by the National Poet of Wales.

We give expert advice on suitable writers and how to organise events, as well as offering funding towards activity costs. Our role as facilitator means that our expertise and knowledge of the sector contributes to ongoing, sustainable activity which supports the growth of creativity within Wales.

Each year, we reach over 160,000 participants and 60,000 young people through literature activities in communities across the country.

We train writers to work with different groups and ages and promote the full range of literature activity available. Literature Wales also runs programmes which support Welsh writers in creating and presenting new work and continuing their professional development.

We deliver ambitious projects which contribute to tackling some of the challenges facing us today. These include organising story-writing workshops with prisoners to read to their children, running courses at Tyˆ Newydd for recovering drug users, and working with the Gypsy Roma Traveller community to develop short films and animations inspired by Roald Dahl. Through programmes such as the South Wales Literature Development Initiative, we show that literature is part of a more cohesive, healthy and motivated society

Working with young people through the Young People’s Laureate and Bardd Plant Cymru initiatives, Literature Wales understands that a love of words starts early. The power of a story to capture the imagination of very young children is the stepping stone to lifelong literacy.

Literature Wales’ Business Plan for 2016-19

Literature Wales’ Business Plan for 2016-19 is also available to read here. The organisation’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2016-17 can be viewed here.

Explore our website or get in touch to find out more about Literature Wales and our work.